take a look at the man in the mirror, Donnie before criticizing Obama

Iraq's Parliament wants
The USA Army out of their nation.

Literally full of bs to placate their cult ridden populus

LOL

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1...173348352.html

THREAD: Over the past few days, I've spoken extensively with career U.S. government officials as they've worked around the clock to try and mitigate the damage from Trump's ineptitude on Iran. With their permission, I'm sharing a small taste from our lengthy conversations. Enjoy.


"We have no functional national security decision-making process in place. We have no plan for what comes next. They are woefully unprepared for what's about to pop off, and they're too stupid to realize it. People here are freaking out, and rightfully so."


"We're still trying to dig out from underneath the last war of choice, and now they're trying to start a new one. I finally cracked open the bottle of scotch you gave me that I've been keeping stashed away in my desk drawer."
"I'm gonna call you later tonight to talk through this so I can go into meetings tomorrow armed with some sane talking points to insert into this cluster****."


"When did most of us find out about killing Soleimani? After it already happened. Since then, we've been trying to cobble together contingency planning on the fly, but these charlatans ignore most of it, and then Trump does more stupid **** that puts us back at square one."


"All Trump cares about is ****ting on Obama's legacy, sucking up to donors, and distracting from impeachment. None of this is about American interests or security. He's surrounded by ideological lunatic sycophants like Pence and Pompeo. But they're far from the only ones."


"So many of Trump's top advisors on Iran are military vets who served multiple tours of duty in our wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. They believe to their core that Iran is the reason why they lost those wars, and they're dead set on payback - no matter what it takes."


"They've been pushing to kill Soleimani for years, and they finally baited Trump into it. They think war with Iran is long overdue, so for them, this was a means to an end. When Iran responds, they'll tell Trump to hit the Iranians harder. You see where this could go."


"They know the Iraqis are gonna kick them out now, so they're gonna try to kill as many as possible on their way out. Iranians, Iraqis, whoever. Some of them are advising Trump to tell the Iraqi government to **** off and dare them to make us leave. I **** you not. Insanity."


"When I used your points about Soleimani's murder being a catalyst for Iranians to rally around the flag, they said that was 'Obama apologist bull****,' and the Soviet Union forced people against their will into public displays of support. So apparently Iran is a superpower now."


"Trump is threatening war crimes against Iran, and none of his top advisors have the courage to publicly oppose it. Instead, they act like cowards and go on background with journalists to express their opposition. They should all resign. They don't deserve to serve this country."


"We have friends that are getting deployed into war zones, but for what? Trump has deployed 14,000 troops over the past 6 months, and it didn't prevent the current crisis. At what point do we start asking whether deploying troops is part of the problem rather than the solution?"


"The scariest part is that they're just making **** up to justify their preferred course of action. When we point out inaccuracies or question logic, we're at best yelled at or at worst cut out of the process. Most of the political appointees are paranoid, unqualified, or both."


"Last year, if you would've asked me whether American institutions are durable enough to prevent a Trump-led war with Iran, I would've said absolutely. Today, I'm not so sure. For as bad as it looks to you all on the outside, it's even worse when you see it from the inside."


"One of Trump's top Iran advisors got suckered into a honey trap, had their laptop/iPhone stolen and hacked before they woke up, and the White House refused to take precautionary measures regarding their security clearance. Ladies and gents, I give you the Trump administration."


In conclusion: Yes, folks. It really is that bad. I am but a humble messenger of truth. The voice of the voiceless. That is all. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Thank the lord we are maybe beginning to see sense.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...cultural-sites

Future of US military presence in Iraq in question amid confusion in Washington
US letter said troops would begin ‘onward movement’ from Iraq, but defense secretary insists no decision was made to evacuate

The withdrawal of the US task force from Iraq would dramatically weaken the effort to stop Isis regrouping,

The future of the US military presence in Iraq is in question amid scenes of confusion in Washington, as the Trump administration scrambled to respond to Iraqi demands for the troops to leave after last week’s assassination in Baghdad of Iran’s top general, Qassem Suleimani.

The US-led coalition taskforce fighting Isis in Iraq delivered a letter to the Iraqi defence ministry on Monday saying preparations would begin right away “to ensure that movement out of Iraq is conducted in a safe and efficient manner”.

But soon afterwards, the defence secretary, Mark Esper, told journalists in the Pentagon: “That letter is inconsistent with where we are right now” and insisted that no decision had been taken to evacuate Iraq. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Mark Milley, said the letter had been sent in error.

“That letter is a draft, it was a mistake, it was unsigned, it should not have been released,” Milley said, adding that it was “poorly worded, implies withdrawal, that is not what’s happening”.

The withdrawal of the taskforce from Iraq would dramatically weaken the effort to stop Isis regrouping, marking a strategic victory for Iran and a serious setback for the Trump administration, which urged Baghdad not to expel its counter-terrorist forces.

The evident confusion in Washington added to an impression among US allies and enemies alike that the decision to assassinate Suleimani without a clear plan of what to do next had weakened the US in the region.

US allies have continued to distance themselves from the decision, as millions of Iranians took to the streets to mourn and demand revenge for the assassination of the country’s top general.

Both Israel and Nato stressed they were not involved in the airstrike on Thursday. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has already expressed disappointment in the lukewarm reaction of Washington’s European allies.

But the response of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was particularly striking, as he has been one of Trump’s staunchest supporters on the world stage.

He told a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday: “The assassination of Suleimani isn’t an Israeli event but an American event. We were not involved and should not be dragged into it.”

The Saudi deputy defence minister, Khalid bin Salman, was in Washington on Monday to urge restraint, joining a growing international chorus.

France’s foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, insisted there was still time for diplomacy but warned that without urgent action to defuse rising tensions there was a real risk of a new Middle East war.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, who spoke to Pompeo on Monday, said that the region’s “cauldron of tensions is leading more and more countries to take unpredicted decisions with unpredictable consequences and a profound risk of miscalculation”.

The Trump administration refused a visa to the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to come to New York to address the UN security council on Thursday, violating the UN headquarters agreement, the Foreign Policy website reported. A spokesman for the Iranian mission said it had not been informed of any decision, and a UN spokesman declined to comment.

The US letter to the Iraqi military was signed by the US commanding general in Iraq, Brig Gen William Seely, and said that US forces “will be repositioning over the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement”.

The taskforce would try keep disruption to a minimum and do much of the airlift at night “to alleviate any perception” that the US was bringing more troops into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

In London, the foreign office would not confirm or deny reports that the UK was scaling back staff at its embassies in Iran and Iraq to a minimum level, saying only that both sites were open and “the safety and security of our staff is of paramount importance and we keep our security posture under regular review”.

Iran has threatened a severe response to the US killing of Suleimani by drone strike in Baghdad last week. Brig Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of Iran’s aerospace division, said on Monday that the only appropriate response would be the “the complete destruction of America in the region”.

While beginning to withdraw counter-Isis forces from Iraq, the Pentagon, meanwhile, continued to pour reinforcements into the region in case of a direct conflict with Iran. US defence officials said the roughly 2,500-strong marine force onboard the Bataan amphibious ready group, equipped with Cobra helicopters and Harrier jets, would be sent to the Middle East from its current position in the Mediterranean.

Three thousand airborne troops are already on the way to Kuwait, and CNN reported that B-52 bombers were being sent to the Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia, for potential use over the Middle East.

On Monday, Iraq’s caretaker prime minister, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, had summoned the US ambassador, Matthew Tueller, and called on the two countries to cooperate in arranging the US withdrawal. However, Abdul-Mahdi did not give a deadline for the US departure.

Trump faced condemnation on Monday for his threat to strike Iranian culture sites among 52 targets that the US would bomb in reprisal for any future Iranian attack. The number, he explained, was the same as the number of Americans taken hostage when the US embassy in Tehran was seized after the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Trump was also under continued pressure from Democrats on Monday for the lack of transparency over his justification for the assassination of Suleimani, who commanded the elite Quds force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Trump and Pompeo have claimed the general was plotting imminent attacks against US targets.

Abdul-Mahdi said the Iranian military leader had flown to Iraq to negotiate, and he claimed Trump had asked the Iraqi government to mediate.

Trump did not consult Congress or US allies before ordering the strike in the early hours of the morning in Baghdad. On Saturday, the White House delivered a formal notification to Congress as required by the 1973 War Powers Act, but its contents were classified. Normally such notifications are public documents with a classified section if required.

The Democratic senators Chuck Schumer and Bob Menendez wrote to Trump on Monday, demanding the war powers notification be declassified.

“We did not see anything here that he deemed required such a classification,” a Senate staffer said. “The War Powers Act provision requiring the 48-hour notification was included partly for transparency purposes with the American people during these delicate moments. [It’s] pretty self-defeating to hide something meant to be transparent.”

The White House has suggested it will brief selected members of Congress this week, but Kellyanne Conway, a Trump adviser, said the decision on timing was up to the Pentagon.

US allies in Europe and the Middle East have stressed that Suleimani had been a destabilising and destructive presence in the region, but they have largely stopped short of supporting Trump’s decision, calling for restraint on all sides.

The US briefed Nato ministers on Monday on the Suleimani killing. Speaking to journalists later, the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, distanced the alliance from the operation.

“This is a US decision, it is not a decision taken by either the global coalition nor Nato, but all allies are concerned about Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region, Iran’s support to different terrorist groups,” Stoltenberg said. He also confirmed the suspension of the Nato training mission in Iraq.

“In everything that we do, the safety of our personnel is paramount. As such, we have temporarily suspended our training on the ground,” the secretary general said.

There is mounting concern that the more cautious stance by the US-led coalition would make it much less effective and allow Isis to regenerate.

“The bottom line is that there won’t be much counter-terrorism going on in Iraq and Syria any time soon,” wrote Luke Hartig, former senior director for counter-terrorism on the national security council, now at the New America foundation. “Trump’s counter-terrorism legacy in Iraq and Syria may be a series of dead bodies but nothing that addresses the core of the problem and no partners willing to help us root it out.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ction-response


What a mess. This is what happens when there is a moron in the White House

So you can’t make it up, 35 people killed so far in a stampede at the generals funeral 48 injured.

Yes a Frenzy Rush
like he was a God to them or something like that.

Crazy.

The stampede was probably artificially created, lets be real, what's killing a few civilians when it will add fuel to the already flaming fire

No this happens alot in the Middle East

didn't one also happen once near Mekka?

i can remember that being in the news some years back

Trump needs to be removed from office, if the republicans cared about anything other than lining their own pockets then they'd support either impeachment or enacting the 25th amendment because nothing about Trump suggests a stable mind.

The immediate threat he posed to justify the attack was artificially created let's be real.

Such bravery from our pm

Paralysed by our inability to criticise Trump because of Brexit. So much for taking back control. Everybody check your fridges, let's see if we can find him together.

Prob still in Mustique... As if he'd come and do world leader stuff over the weekend too :/

Corbyn is Live in Parliament
Moaning that the PM is not there.

He also just said
the Assassination is illegal.

Do you agree or disagree with that?